Schools unveil return to school plans amid rise of COVID cases

Three weeks ago, Dr. James Konrad, superintendent of Washington School District, and the district’s pandemic committee were preparing for full-time, in-person learning when school resumes on Aug. 20.
But that plan was scrapped amid a surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide – including in Pennsylvania and Southwestern Pennsylvania, and especially among young adults – and on Thursday the school board approved a hybrid model that offers a blend of on-campus instruction and remote learning.
“I know this has been a really difficult situation for all of us. Safety is a priority,” Konrad said Wednesday during a virtual meeting that nearly 150 parents and staff members attended. We need to come up with a strategic plan that’s going to keep our teachers, kids, staff, and all of you in the community safe.”
As school districts in Washington and Greene counties begin to release their back-to-school plans – which, district superintendents say, are subject to change – there is pressure to balance the safety of students, teachers, staff and the community while the novel coronavirus continues to rage and to provide children with the best possible learning experience.

Trista Thurston/Observer-Reporter
Trista Thurston/Observer-Reporter
Local districts are currently developing their plans to return, or not, to the classroom this fall. Here’s a list of what Washington and Greene County schools are planning as of July 24.
Parents, teachers and administrators all are anxious about returning to school, in large part because there is no way to guarantee safety.
Dr. Edward Zelich, superintendent of Charleroi Area School District, said it’s that uncertainty that keeps him awake at night.
“We just want to be safe, but what is safe? If even one person – a cafeteria worker, a bus driver, a student, a teacher – gets sick or dies, I don’t know how you live with yourself,” said Zelich.
As of now, the school district’s plan – which is based on responses from parents, teachers and other stakeholders, along with hours and hours of research and discussions – calls for a full-time reopening if Washington County is in the green phase, a hybrid opening if the county is in the yellow phase, and distance learning if the county is in red.
But, he said, he expects those plans to change next Tuesday when the school board is slated to vote on a plan.
“My ‘aha’ moment happened when I realized that our county’s in the green phase right now, but we don’t have to be green in the district,” said Zelich, who thinks the school district will develop a “phased-in” start to the school year.
He also said he wouldn’t be surprised to see school districts in Washington and Greene counties follow suit of other districts throughout Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, and proceed with virtual learning when school resumes.
Konrad echoed that, noting there is a real possibility the school district could revert exclusively to distance learning during the school year.
Trinity Area School District is offering parents and students the option to choose a hybrid model, which includes two days on-campus and three days of distance learning, or cyberschool.
Pattiann Berton, whose son, Matthew, is heading into seventh grade at Trinity Middle School this fall, is among a group of parents who are unconvinced that schools can reopen safely. Bringing students together as the virus is unchecked makes her nervous, especially for families who have elderly relatives or family members with medical conditions.
After having several family discussions, the Bertons have decided to opt for Trinity Area School District’s cyberschool.
“It makes more sense to us just to stay home. You hate to use the term ‘guinea pig,’ but we don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the scary part for us, the unknown,” said Berton.
But Christa Malinak, whose daughter, Emma, will be a senior at Trinity High School, has selected the hybrid option.
“The hybrid option, we think, is the best option, as we’re getting the best approach to being safe and providing face-to-face instruction,” said Malinak. “I was not a proponent of cyberschool when it was given as an option. I believe the decisions the school district has made have been made out of concerns for the safety of students and teachers, and I believe they’ve put into place the best possible safety plans for the return back to school.”
Canon-McMillan School District, which was among the first to announce a return to school plan that called for full-time, on-campus learning, reversed course this week and announced the district would instead adopt a hybrid approach.
As of July 25, Avella, Bentworth, Fort Cherry and Central Greene were among districts planning for a full-time return to campus when school starts. Beth-Center, McGuffey and Carmichaels school districts are joining Canon-McMillan in a hybrid approach, while other districts haven’t yet decided.
Carmichaels approved its plan Thursday, but, said Superintendent Fred Morecraft, there are “still a million details to work out.”
“Honestly, it feels like we’re fighting an uphill battle, and we get new information every day,” said Morecroft. “It’s really, really difficult to balance keeping everybody safe – we have grandparents raising kids – and meeting the needs of our kids.”
Additionally, there has been a push from President Donald Trump for full school reopenings, and new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – after Trump called the original guidelines too harsh – that heavily emphasize sending students back to school this fall, despite what the CDC described as “mixed evidence about whether returning to school results in increased transmission or outbreaks” of COVID-19.
But on Friday, as the U.S. surpassed 4 million coronavirus cases, more than 150 prominent U.S. medical experts, scientists, teachers, nurses and others signed a letter to political leaders urging them to shut down the country and start over to contain the surging pandemic.
“Right now we are on a path to lose more than 200,000 American lives by November 1st. Yet, in many states people can drink in bars, get a haircut, eat inside a restaurant, get a tattoo, get a massage, and do myriad other normal, pleasant, but non-essential activities,” the letter said.
Coronavirus is set to become a leading cause of death in the United States, according to the CDC.
Washington School District, like other local districts, is implementing a number of new safety protocols. Every student, even elementary schoolchildren, will be expected to wear a mask. Parents are required to take their children’s temperatures each morning – the district is providing thermometers to families who don’t have access to one – and those with a temperature above 100 degrees must stay home until they are fever-free for 72 hours.
The district is urging parents to be the “first line of defense.”
“If you send a sick kid to school, you might endanger a teacher, another person. Please reflect on that. We’re asking you to keep not only your children safe, but other children safe as well,” said Konrad. “We are the Prexies, we are a family and a community, and we come together when there’s a difficulty. There are challenges on the horizon, but we can work through the challenges.”